Game in a nutshell: The Nats took their third win in as many days against the Reds behind early offense and Dan Haren’s best start as a member of the team. Washington scored two runs in each of the second, third, and fourth innings to jump out to a comfortable lead and give Haren the room he needed to pitch an efficient afternoon. They forced Reds’ starter Mike Leake out of the game after three innings with a high pitch count, three walks and six hits. The Reds would scrape out three runs, but end up losing by a final score of 6-3.

Hitting highlight: Bryce Harper is clearly the leader of the Nats’ lineup through the season’s first month and is making the case as one of the most dangerous hitters in all of baseball. He began had a single in the fourth, added a two-run home run (his ninth of the year) in the fifth, and drew a walk in the sixth. After today he is hitting .373 with nine homers (2nd in majors) and 18 RBI. The homer and RBI totals are team records for the month of April.

Aside from Espinosa's gaff, the defense bailed Haren out today. Second time around he wasn't really fooling anyone in that Reds lineup. He is still the weakest link in that rotation, but he was serviceable today. Long run, I think we'll be lucky if he wins as many as he loses.

God bless Denard Span. Without him, this game would've ended very differently.Haren looked a lot better, though he still seems to be getting timed up third time through the order. And Drew and Clip are still throwing too many balls. But a good team win.

Who hates Span? There's only 1 person who rates him as a bench player.Those two catches convinced me he deserves to be in the lineup but Werth? Perhaps not. But, then he is very, very close to bench bat and defensive substitution age.They STILL NEED someone other than Harper to be a run producer and not a table setter or pseudo defensive player. My hope is that Zim and his bat are completely healthy because Zim certainly is that guy …

Terrific win.Terrific team win. Who thinks Span should be benched? The one guy I'm glad we didn't get at this point is BJ Upton, who is now hitting .151 with 32 K's, a lower BA and more strike outs that ALR. Span has looked pretty darn good, IMHO.

If Span hadn't caught that ball up against the fence, Haren would have broken. By the way $13M is a hell of a lot to spend on a 5th starter even if it is only a 1 year deal. I was expecting for a little more stuff, but hopefully he can keep going 6IP.

Either way, it's nice to be debating the quality of the start instead of lamenting another L. It would be really nice to keep it going into Atlanta to get back some of those 3 losses from last series and put that doubt back in their minds.

You have to listen to Dave Jaegler make the radio call on Span's catch on Votto.Great read, great tracking and to the ball. This is what Span was brought here for. He saved 3 runs on that 2nd running catch he made.

oops, I was wrong. BJ only has 30 K's, not 32.Am I the only one that appreciates how good Werth is playing in right?I never thought that he was an ideal leadoff guy, but he did a serviceable job. He also is not a ideal cleanup guy, but I bet he'll be serviceable there, too.

I never thought that he was an ideal leadoff guy, but he did a serviceable job. He also is not a ideal cleanup guy, but I bet he'll be serviceable there, too.And he's getting paid like Justin Upton. Do you actually believe Werth is as good as Justin Upton?

Loving Span in CF, but did you see that emergency/whatever fail on that inside pitch from Marshall? He can expect a heavy fine from the kangaroo court and some serious ribbing from the teammates for that one.

That outfield of Bryce/Span/Werth is really paying dividends on both sides of the plate.They have ONLY ONE impact hitter in this lineup. That outfield, with the exception of Harper, is bereft of run producers. The infield is currently entirely bereft of run producers.Are you going to tell me that's okay? Because if you are setting yourself up for some real disappointment when this team starts to falter as it just did!

peric said…I never thought that he was an ideal leadoff guy, but he did a serviceable job. He also is not a ideal cleanup guy, but I bet he'll be serviceable there, too.And he's getting paid like Justin Upton. Do you actually believe Werth is as good as Justin Upton?———————————-I wasn't referring to Justin. I was talking about his brother BJ

I wasn't referring to Justin. I was talking about his brother BJLast I looked BJ was playing CF and Justin Upton was in right field. That is Jayson Werth's position is it not? And JUption is currently considered a potential MVP as he leads baseball in home runs. What is Werth doing? He is getting paid 9,750,000 and he's and MVP candidate right now. And Werth is getting paid 16,000,000? Do you think they are even close to equivalent? Really?Werth is a bench bat to be the way he has been going the past three years. If he hadn't embraced and did a great job in the lead-off spot at the END not the beginning or middle END of last season he might be on the bench. He should be on the bench so that a prospect like Tyler Moore who just might produce like JUpton could have that slot!And then there's the LaRoche debacle.Don't get me started on that!

Today was a giant step forward for Haren recovering his form. Look at the progression this season, which is most striking in WHIP (not that he was any good in any game on that score before today, but progress in the right direction is still progress):4/5 4 IP 9H 6R 6ER 0BB (2.25 WHIP) 5K 4HR L, 0-14/11 5IP 10H 3R 3ER 0BB (2.0 WHIP) 5K 0HR W, 1-14/16 4.1 IP 7H 7R 3ER 1BB(1.85 WHIP) 2K 1HR L, 1-24/22 5 IP 6H 3R 3ER 3BB (1.8 WHIP) 3K 0HR L, 1-34/27 6 IP 6H 2R 2ER 0BB (1.0 WHIP) 5K 1HR W, 2-3For those who are oh-so-eager to pick a fight over this kind of stuff, I'm not trying to make any other or larger point about Haren than the numbers show here.

If you think about if Harper were in CF he just might make the all star over everyone including Span, including the guy in Pittsburgh because of his hitting!!! Seamhead do you actually think that Span has even a glimmer of a shot at the All Star in CF? Do you? He's a far better fielder than I thought after seeing what he did today but this is a team that his bereft of impact hitting outside of Harper. They have declining also-rans and younger players who really don't spec out as that kind of 3-4-5 run producing hitter. Peripheral pseudo-defensive players. Except for Zim if he is healthy.That isn't a good situation to be in.

Good stuff Eddie.peric, you know as we'll as anybody that Werth's signing was about a whole lot more than stats.You also said last January that Rizzo should go after BJ, a "five tool player" in your words.Justin is off to a great start. I personally think there is an intangible reason that are not shown on a computer stats page as to why Gibson and the Diamondbacks were anxious to trade him.We'll see how much of a divisive distraction the Uptons end of being in the Braves locker room, while Werth will be the glue that holds the Nats together.Look, I'm glad the Nats have won 3 in a row, especially happy for Haren, but it's a nice day out here in Seneca. Too nice to argue. Going for a walk. Later.

These Last two games have been joy to watch in person. Wish I was going to see Det tomorrow! Denard just makes it look so easy out in CF. They way he was setting up and the routes he took were great. You figure he is still learning how this park plays too!Lets go for the SWEEEEEEEEEEP!!!!!!!

"Seamhead do you actually think that Span has even a glimmer of a shot at the All Star in CF? Do you?"The fan vote selects 3 OF, not a LF, CF and RF. So clearly Span has little chance there. But if he keeps playing the way he has so far, he has a very good chance of being a player vote or manager selection All Star.

Manassas — still 3 games left in the month, and for both against tough teams, still TBD.A very clear case to be made for Harp: among the big three stats for hitters, he's behind on HRs 12-9 (but still second in MLB right now), tied on RBIs with 18 each — but way, way ahead on BA, .373 vs. .303 — which makes him the clearer engine for the team's offense. Having both power and that phenomenal an average is the bigger advantage. (Other significant stats are kind of a wash — — Upton has 20 runs vs. 15 for Bryce, but that's more a signal of who's hitting behind him, especially given that average; and it's mostly been RZim and ALR. Werth has driven him in, advanced him, or gotten a hit behind him (including after a homer — you can't hold that against the cleanup guy) 3x today, 1x yesterday, and 1x Thursday in the 3 games he's hit cleanup.– Harp is the MLB leader in OPS with 1.236 vs 1.163 for Upton (who's 3rd).

Joe Seamhead said… Thanks, Gonat, but who wants to introduce actual facts. Peace and Harmony! GYFNG! Oh, yeah, relax, we got this. You'll see. April 27, 2013 5:17 PM ______________________________Today was a bonus. Who really thunk that the Nats would make the Reds look that bad?The Reds bullpen kept the Nats to no runs after the 4th.Also impessive was defensive positioning. The Nats had Desi up the middle on Votto and Span straight up against Cozart and Bryce shaded closer to the line and in.If not for the bad throw by Espi and then that costly error, the Nats would've walked away with this as that Span play wouldn't have even happened.A part of me liked it as we got to see Span with his best day in the field.

Also, re Harp vs. Upton, there's fielding.Bryce has 2 errors so far vs. 1 for Justin, BUT has 2 assist and 1 DP already this year, vs. none of either for Upton. Bryce had 8 assists and 3 DPs last year in less than a full season; Upton has had 5 and 6 in the past two seasons.And of course, that doesn't count how many guys who've failed to even try to score from third out of respect for the Feenom's arm.

Secret wasian man said… Not to bring up the bad stuff. But I something's gotta give with ALR. Can't we bat him 9th? April 27, 2013 5:23 PM __________________________That's not bad stuff, it's really bad stuff. He stalled multiple rallies today and Espinosa did the same. Espi and LaRoche were the only 2 in the entire starting 9 who didn't get hits today.

Peric, Heyward on the DL and Justin UPton is their LF. If they play him in RF it is only as Heyward's replacement.Good point Gonat.Still Seamhead fails to see that BJ Upton likely really is in a slump. Whereas that is likely not true of Adam LaRoche.And $16,000,000 for Werth? Even with his intangibles? Versus 9,500,000 for JUption? YOU seem reasonable gonat do you really think Werth is worth that even with the intangibles? Do you?Whereas Seamhead rarely ever really knows what he is talking about. I doubt that he's ever played the game.

The fan vote selects 3 OF, not a LF, CF and RF. So clearly Span has little chance there. But if he keeps playing the way he has so far, he has a very good chance of being a player vote or manager selection All Star.Really? I don't see it.

peric said… YOU seem reasonable gonat do you really think Werth is worth that even with the intangibles? Do you?_________________________It's a year by year with JWerth. So far so good this year. Next year who knows. The overpay is quite large but that's Boras working his magic. In the end, you just hope the Nats have at least 1 WS ring and all that amount that was overpaid will be well worth it.

– Upton has 20 runs vs. 15 for Bryce, but that's more a signal of who's hitting behind him, especially given that average; and it's mostly been RZim and ALR. Werth has driven him in, advanced him, or gotten a hit behind him (including after a homer — you can't hold that against the cleanup guy) 3x today, 1x yesterday, and 1x Thursday in the 3 games he's hit cleanup.Jayson Werth is NOT a $16,000,000 impact hitter. Because that's what you pay an impact hitter for that many years. Werth IS NOT even close!In the end it may waste a Ted Williams-esque year by Harper (check out William's second year in the majors) by not giving him the right complement of impact hitters to surround him. That is on management.

In the end, you just hope the Nats have at least 1 WS ring and all that amount that was overpaid will be well worth it.I would agree. Except he blocks legitimate prospects that could make Harper a center piece in the lineup that makes Pujols in his prime pale by comparison.

Peric, Davey made a good adjustment but now he's getting 3 days of NO production in the 2-hole.If RZim comes back healthy that will help and then it's the constant evaluation of "what's wrong with ALR"?If you bring in TyMo you lose the LRLRL but at this point who cares. ALR is 0-22 and if he doesn't get a hit tomorrow it will be a full week without a hit.I think you go back to Werth in the 2 hole and TyMo in the 4 hole with Desi behind him.And please get Suzuki some rest. One infield hit today and he's scuffling.

I think you go back to Werth in the 2 hole and TyMo in the 4 hole with Desi behind him.And please get Suzuki some rest. One infield hit today and he's scuffling.Ramos the entire 4-game series in ATL? Do you think he'll be able to manage that? But it makes sense at this point.Werth claimed he wasn't having success in the 2-hole. He was best in the lead-off spot. The guy is a pseudo-prima donna. Riggleman had real problems with him when he moved him to the top of the lineup in the 1 and 2 spots and Werth was completely ineffective.I am completely unimpressed with Werth and his attitude. He's not Mickey Mantle. Hell he isn't even a good Roger Maris.I suggest Werth in the 1 spot and Span batting second. At least with Span walking (as he has been doing) we'll have a man on to harry the pitchers when Harper bats.Here's my suggested lineup:Werth RFSpan CFZim 3BHarper RFT-Mo 1BEspinosa 2BDesmond SSRamos/Suzuki CPZim is best in the 3-hole anyway. I don't think it really matters whether Harper bats third, fourth or fifth. Werth has been most effective leading off. PUT HIM there try to get something for $16,000,000

Eric, did you watch the game today? Did you see Espinosa in the field? Did you watch his approach with his at-bats?Hey gonat? Did you see his smoking hot girlfriend? He probably went out on the town with her and had more than few drinks for his birthday. Give him this day and see what he does tomorrow.

That said I really would like to see Espy be more discriminating … take more walks and try not be the hero most at bats. Sure he has legitimate power and he proved it last season and the season before. 37 doubles and 17 homers plus the triples is nothing to sneeze at. But getting on base can start big innings. He needs a bit of a paradigm shift in that sense. AS DOES Lombardozzi!!! And Lombo really is a table setter!

And finally put LaRoche on the DL when you send Solano and Rendon to Syracuse. Recall Kobernus since Chad Tracy can back up Moore at first. Kobernus really can play the outfield, second plus short and third in a pinch and right now he's hitting .411 with a .977 OPS and a .457 OBP.

Gonat, the Reds are starting a southpaw tomorrow, so we can expect to see TMo at first. Unfortunately, with the Barves starting righties Teheran and Hudson for the first two games of that series, TMo would have to do awfully well tomorrow to start before Maholm's start against us on Wednesday.

"peric said… So, let's see Denard Span over Andrew McCutchen? Over Matt Kemp? Over Angel Pagan? Over Shin-Shoo Choo? Over Dexter Fowler? So, maybe he makes it over Justin Maxwell?"The fan vote will likely select McCutchen or Kemp or both. The fan vote is basically a popularity contest. The player vote and manager selection are more merit-based. Again, if Span continues his current high level of play he could easily be selected on merit.

peric said… Hey gonat? Did you see his smoking hot girlfriend? He probably went out on the town with her and had more than few drinks for his birthday. Give him this day and see what he does tomorrow.April 27, 2013 6:08 PM _________________________________He will be in the lineup so we will see if he can get back on track. Oh yes, I have seen his brunette girlfriend.

Steady Eddie said… Gonat, the Reds are starting a southpaw tomorrow, so we can expect to see TMo at first. Unfortunately, with the Barves starting righties Teheran and Hudson for the first two games of that series, TMo would have to do awfully well tomorrow to start before Maholm's start against us on Wednesday. April 27, 2013 6:17 PM _____________________________________I think even 1 day off could help ALR then reevalutate. TyMo as a starter is doing well.

As long as he's healthy, and by all accounts he is, LaRoche will start hitting. He gets his. 275 25/95 every year. He's like metronome. Last year's start was a bit of an abberation for him. He typically stinks in April. Streaks breed streaks. In a couple of weeks, he'll go on a tear and carry the team for a while.

Had a last minute invite to the game — absolutely perfect day. Denard Span is amazing!! I was sitting over by the left field foul pole and so had a great view. Relief pitchers were a bit scary, but rusty. Haren was better, but is always going to give up some runs. Votto has been throwing things , arguing with umps and shouting expletives very loud. Curious. Denard really pissed him off!!!!! Bryce is a monster. ALR- I am telling you, no matter what any one says, there is something wrong. He is not stretching for balls, not making anything but the weakest contact and not even running well( into foul ground for a ball). He looks stiff and like he is moving carefully. So nice to get a curly W. packed house, military appreciation things. One ugly incident near me with fans. Dude kept trying to force the wave, no one buying it. Standing in front of people at a critical point of the game, ran down the stairs and stood in front of a section right by the field so no one could see. Other fans confronted him, security got involved and there were ejections. So dumb. Guy had no idea what was happening in the game. Annoying.

I think even 1 day off could help ALR then reevalutate. TyMo as a starter is doing well.That's already been tried … to no avail. He needs to get a study done of his back. A serious study by a specialist. And he probably needs to rest it for at least a month.

"Eric, did you watch the game today? Did you see Espinosa in the field? Did you watch his approach with his at-bats?"Nah, I was listening on the radio… 1st error of the season and LaRoche dug one out of the dirt for a 6-4-3, right?Was he 0 for at the plate?Anyway, regardless of his performance today I think it would be insane to bench him.

Span is the epitome of a lead off hitterSpan's OBP in August 2012: .270Werth;s OBP in August 2012: .435Span's OBP in Sept/Oct 2012: .300Werth's OBP in Sept/Oct 2012: .358Wrong again CrackerJack. No prize for you.

Span was playing for the Twins then, bozo.Yeah you moronic imbecile and if he was playing for Bo Porter and the pathetic Astros do you think he would put up with Span's crappy OBP? NO.Werth is better at getting on base over the long haul period moron.

#4 they used to say the same about Pujols that he'd be fine and stay at his 1.000 OPS level and at the age of 31 he dropped over 100 points and then the Angels took him and he dropped another 50 points and this year he's droped another 80.At some point ALR will regress due to age. We don't know when that will be but this bunk about "don't worry, its just April" isn't really true.There's always a reason and prior to this year his April batting average for his career was .228 Certainly not great but he's well below that.We already know his back isn't well as that was reported.

At some point ALR will regress due to age.Its not the age its the injuries they can add up and be cumulative. Or its size as someone pointed out … as was the case with Dunn; he's dropped significant weight. He really ought to drop more.

I posted after Nats lost to cards that the next series would tell us if Nats have worked this out or if they would be in for a long season. The Nats answered with the former with conviction! I am wondering if Haren should be a long reliever? that may be the role for him

What I always find interesting is going back and reading several days back and then read forward.I read 5 posters who had the Nats marked for either 80 wins, last place, and other garbage. Of course they stopped posting.Among all the garbage is still some interesting posts especially about Span. Was he scared of the wall, was he playing too shallow, was he learning the ballpark.I would say whatever adjustments Span or the coaches made, it worked well. Good Win!

Peric, I'm not the one that has said that Justin was a RF, though I'm sure he could, nor am I the one that said Jean Carlo Stanton is a LH hitter, nor am the guy that made the claim that Alphonso Soriano was the best center fielder in Nats history. You made all of those statements and you have the freaking audacity to say I'm usually wrong? I have news for you, you have no credibility as an expert either.

So, I get back from a great game! Span has me thinking that seeing stuff like that in person is just what you go to games for. And then I read PERIC!Peric, honestly, how many games do you see in person? You make endless comments about Span and then decide today to switch to Werth. Are you ever happy? You live in California and yet you post about a team I bet you haven't see a dozen times. And then, when you get called on one of your many errors, you lash out with silly retorts that make you look even more idiotic. You don't post like this on Nats Prospects. Do you just have a comfort zone here that lets you be so outlandish. I am once again going to scroll by you and just enjoy my team. You do nothing to help me feel positive about baseball.

Good stuff here peeps! Too much to dig into but I'll add this: who cares what anyone gets paid or makes the allstar team??!! We paid what we paid, can't change it now. All star is a pop contest….what we care about is wins and the position we need to be in to make an oct run.

Hello all, long time reader and religious nats fan, but never commented. There is one reason and one reason only that I'm hopping in for a change. Peric. I think I speak for everyone in the Western Hemisphere when I ask: can you do us a favor and just…stop? Like, I have no dog in this fight. I'm just a normal nats fan who enjoys looking over a few blogs for fun. But for real dude, find somewhere else to be bleak and pessimistic. Cuz here's the thing: dumping on everyone and cloaking it in what u call "realism" is just highly annoying. We all have eyes. We all watch baseball and know it well. We can see when Werth has an off night or our spectacular defensive center fielder doesn't get many hits. You don't need to anoint yourself lawyer for the prosecution and carve up every blip in the game like a thanksgiving turkey. And when we tell u to shut up, screaming that somebody who has proved your claims asinine and unfounded "must have never played baseball" is just so strange and goofy. (I play in college btw). Does Tim kurkjian not know anything about baseball because the last time he played was as a kindergartner? No. So just give it a rest man. I just had to appear to post my first and final comment to beg that you crawl into a hole somewhere. God speed.

In any event, I just thought you'd like to know that my teammates and I all of whom follow the nats and read this blog do nothing but scroll down our phones in the locker room and make jokes about you are legit a caricature. Like Eeyor from Winnie the Pooh or something. I'm sure none of this is going to change your behavior in any way, since if you had a psychologically sound persons response to public shaking and negative feedback you would have stopped posting long ago, but I just thought you'd like to know there's an entire world of nats fans who go to natsbaseball.blogspot.com first after a game, and to this site second..solely because you exist on this blog.

Boy, do I wish there was a "like" button here sometimes! ThanksBXJaycobb.[Not that anybody cares, but I did play ball in HS, and then played men's fastpitch, and modified fastpitch into my mid forties].